Raccoons in the Attic

Raccoon Repellent

The best "repellent" available, when it comes to raccoons in the attic, is heavy steel screen and metal flashing, to seal their entry holes shut!

But sprays and pellets and machines? Use them if you want to waste time.

Raccoon Repellent - Deterrent Products and Devices

When it comes to powders, granules, sprays and stuff you can buy at Home Depot or online, in my 15+ years as a wildlife removal professional, I have seen it all: attics filled with strobing lights, blaring radios, ultrasonic sound machines, and every type of over-the-counter repellent, from coyote urine flakes, to ammonia, to the end-all-be-all el cheapo scam, mothballs. I once went into an attic in which a desperate old lady had dumped close to 100 lbs. of mothballs in her attic. The animals didn't care! Here's the problem with repellents in general: once a raccoon lives in your attic, and has a nest of babies there, that's it. That's the only option for survival. There is no device, no repellent that will make them leave. Go ahead and buy a raccoon repellent at Home Depot, or a raccoon deterrent device online - waste your time. But they have zero demonstrated effectiveness.

However, if you want to keep raccoons out of your attic, there's a GREAT repellent - home repair products! Heavy-gague steel mesh, metal flashing, and other repair materials which are resistant to raccoon chewing. Inspect the house to find the entry holes, and seal them shut. 100% guaranteed repellent! But if you already have raccoons in your attic, there's no product or device that will make them leave. Luckily, the problem is just as easy to solve with repairs and exclusion doors as it is with a applying a repellent. Do it the right way and get your raccoon problem solved.

There is one exception: sometimes raccoon eviction fluid, which is the scent of a male raccoon, can make female raccoons in tight quarters leave and bring their young with them. This is because a male raccoon will kill any young not its own, and the female knows it, so if there's presence of a male, she might move out. But it doesn't always work, and it's harder to use than just doing it the right way, so I don't use REV on raccoons.

Raccoon Repellent - Deterrent Products and Devices

This Homeowner Tried Repellents First

In about half of the jobs I service, I see that  homeowners have tried products like these first, before they realize they don't work, and then do it right, by trapping.

High Pitch Sound Machine

These products are sold everywhere, and emit high-frequency sound. They are so fraudulent the FTC has issued a warning about them as a consumer product.

I Recommend Trapping Instead

Repellents are gimmicks meant to take your money, but worst of all, waste your time. These won't solve the problem, which will only get worse while you wait.

Repairs - True Repellent!

Buy some proper materials and seal shut the entry holes, with professional grade repairs, and that's the most effective repellent you can buy!

Raccoon Repellent Reviews

Mothballs: 0/5 STARS Mothballs or mothball flakes, sometimes mixed with coyote urine or other ingredients, is the most common repellent - cheap to make. But zero effectiveness on raccoon behavior. And a known environmental toxin and carcinogen to boot! Wow! That's my mothball raccoon repellent review.

Ammonia: 0/5 STARS Ammonia has a strong odor, like mothballs. But in an attic, which is ventilated, the smell just kind of wafts away. And a mother raccoon isn't going to abandon her young just because of a light odor! C'mon.

Strobing Lights: 0/5 STARS These flashing light machines for raccoons are commonly sold by enthusiastic marketers, but I've been in attics with several of these installed, and the raccoons don't care. They can easily go do dark areas, down in eaves and soffits, or behind beams and insulation. Or maybe they just don't care about flashing lights at all. They don't work. That's my flashing light raccoon repellent review.

Sound Machines / Radio: 0/5 STARS Same as with the lights or the odor, they are able to go to places in the attic where the effect is less, and/or they just don't care. A raccoon is not going to let her young die just because of a sound or light or smell! That's my sound machine raccoon repellent review - but you don't have to take my word for it. Look up what the FTC has to say about these fraudulent devices.

Raccoon Eviction Fluid: 3/5 STARS In special circumstances, this can actually work. It's the only known raccoon repellent product that is effective. If you can isolate the raccoons to one area, or apply right on the nest, maybe it'll work. But in my opinion, this is just as hard as trapping and exclusion, so why bother? Do it the right way!

Hot Sauce: 1/5 STARS Super hot sauce, like police-grade mace, can prevent them from chewing on wood or plants, if applied directly via spray or basting on with a paintbrush. It can be an effective chew repellent, but it's not an overall effective raccoon deterrent.

Clean the Attic: 3/5 STARS The scent of raccoons that have already lived in your attic will attract new raccoons. The phermones in the feces, urine, etc. Cleaning is good repellent.

Home Repairs: 5/5 STARS Bravo! The winner! Just find the entry holes the raccoons are using to get into your house, seal them shut with metal repairs, and you have a 100% effective, PERMANENT raccoon repellent solution. If you want to hire someone to do this, read more about how much does raccoon removal cost.

Information About Raccoon Repellents

Will repellents get a raccoon out of the attic? These cute animals are huge destroyers of the house, extremely curious, loud, and sometimes annoying. They scratch everything and chew electrical wires. Get rid of them as soon as you can. But be careful! They can find a way to your attic again and again. And they can cause a serious amount of damage which will cost you a lot of money for repairing.

So what keeps them away from the house? Repellents may keep them away in some cases. Everything that creates unpleasant scent would make a mother raccoon unsecure and she wouldn't want to make a nest in your place. That unpleasant scent must be very strong because attics are open spaces and well-ventilated, so the scent could vanishe fast. You should consult with a wildlife expert about these things.

Some experts say that none of these odor repellents would work, none but MALE RACCOON SCENT. That would make female adult nursing raccoon go away with her babies. The only really useful raccoon deterrent product in North America is EVICTION FLUID. The title says for itself. The eviction fluid contains male raccoon's urine and glad scent. I've already said why does it keep raccoons away earlier - it intimidates the female into thinking a dangerous make is in the area. This works only when you have a nursing female with babies on your attic. And even then it is not a hundred percent helpful. You should use it by pouring it up on some absorbent stuff and then scatter that all over the attic. Best use is in tight spaces with no ventilation. If this thing doesn't work either, then you should call wildlife experts and remove raccoons by hand.

There are a plenty of ways you can make a repellent all by yourself, but these tactics are not effective: household ammonia, spices (garlic), peppers (black pepper, cayenne pepper), sprinklers and special lights (water sprinklers in the garden will scare animals), fox urine, vinegar or human hair.

There is also an invention called electronic raccoon repellent, which has been declared a fraudlent product by the FTC. This device creates a noise that is supposed to bother raccoons at high frequency. Noise is terrible irritating to you, but not enough to make a raccoon abandon its home and go outside to die. They often won't come within a few feet of the source of this noise, but the attic is large, and they can get behind beams and other architecture. Also, some people try to use some other sound devices that create a low-frequency noise or human or animal noise that make these animals go away, however studies have proven zero effectiveness for these devices. Some use coyote urine.

A lot of you probably think about killing raccoons. You must know that that act is illegal and immoral. If you cannot deal with them by yourselves, call a specialists and they will take care of them and your home and they will give you some advice on how to deal with them in future and keep your home safe.

The Bottom Line

Do raccoon repellents work? Except for Raccoon Eviction Fluid, which only works part of the time, no. Luckily, the problem is just as easy to solve with repairs and exclusion doors as it is with a applying a repellent. Do it the right way and get your raccoon problem solved.